True Crime Recaps 2022 - South Bend Tribune -
April 30th 1989: On this day however the pulpit was empty. There was no sign of Pastor Bob [Pelley], his wife or any of their five children. True Crime Recaps: Prom Night Mystery: Pelley Family Case, Youtube 31.10, 2022
He [Pastor Bob] had been shot twice … The police found Dawn, Bob’s second wife, in the basement; she died with her arms around two of their daughters … They had all been shot in the face at close range … There were no signs of struggle, no signs of forced entry, no sign of the murder weapon or ammunition, and the doors were all locked. And something else was missing from the Pelley house: the couple’s three other children … The girls were located without much trouble. ibid.
Jeff’s senior prom had taken place the night before … After hearing about the murders Jeff broke down and cried. ibid.
Investigators were able to put together a timeline of his [Jeff] evening that left about 20 minutes of his time unaccounted for. It doesn’t seem like nearly enough time to shoot four people, gather up the shell casings, through his bloody clothes in the washing machine, start a cycle, take a shower, hide the gun and drive over to his girlfriend’s house to change into his tux. ibid.
If it wasn’t him then who? ibid.
He [Jeff] didn’t have a single mark on him. ibid.
The murders went unsolved and Jeff walked free for more than ten years. ibid.
In 2006 Jeff Pelley was sentenced to 160 years for the murders of his family. But he never gave up proclaiming his innocence. ibid.
He [Bob] had another life before he came to the church. ibid.
For 32 years since his father, stepmother and two stepsisters were killed, and for 15 years since his conviction for the crime, Jeff Pelley has maintained his innocence.
Now for the first time since a 2009 Indiana Supreme Court ruling, Pelley will have the chance to present evidence on his behalf. He hopes to get a new trial for the murders on the night of his 1989 LaVille High School prom.
Earlier this month, St Joseph Superior Court Judge Stephanie Steele set a hearing in Pelley’s post-conviction relief case for March, where Pelley’s legal team will argue the 49-year-old deserves a new trial. They claim prosecutors lied about evidence at trial, and that new testimony suggests Pelley’s father’s illegal financial dealings in Florida may have been the motivation for the murder. South Bend Tribune article 2021